


Pieces of Us

by LORBEERPRINZ



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Soen no Kiseki/Akatsuki no Megami | Fire Emblem Path of Radiance/Radiant Dawn
Genre: IkeSoren Week 2021, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-04
Updated: 2021-01-09
Packaged: 2021-03-14 16:35:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 16,691
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28548726
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LORBEERPRINZ/pseuds/LORBEERPRINZ
Summary: [a collection of works written for IkeSoren Week 2021]Six glimpses into the lives of a mercenary-turned-army-commander and his strategist.
Relationships: Ike/Senerio | Soren
Comments: 24
Kudos: 34
Collections: IkeSoren Week 2021





	1. A Piece of Calamity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [Day 1: Feral Drug]
> 
> What could have been a relatively normal day in a world turned to stone is suddenly turned on its head when magic waves of catastrophe roll through the camp and endanger the security of those around. In the face of such an outbreak of unknown origins, Ike finds himself powerless to help his friend.

Something was wrong. Something was very,  _ very _ wrong and Ike had absolutely no idea how any of this was even happening, or why. When Mist had called upon him, had almost screamed at him to come with her quickly, he had had no expectation of what might have happened, but he had seen how scared and also worried his sister had been, had known instantly that whatever it was, it had to be grave.

But this was something he would have never imagined even in his wildest dreams. 

Surrounded by a flock of trembling soldiers pointing their weapons at him, Soren cowered on the ground, convulsing, quivering, practically rolled into a ball.  
Whispers of the onlookers around him mentioned a sudden outburst, the mage attacking his surroundings seemingly out of the blue with no provocations. Someone wondered how he had even done that, couldn’t see a tome anywhere.   
So that was the ruckus Ike had heard earlier in the distance before Mist had burst into his tent…

Ike turned to his sister, who clung to her staff as though it would protect her from those magic bursts the people around them feared. Quickly the masses gathered around the spectacle.

“I have no idea what’s going on”, Mist blurted out, her voice trembling at the sight of her old friend losing control, “I was talking normally to him earlier. Sure, I think he’s kind of stressed out because of the Tower and all, but...this is the first time I’ve seen him like this.”  
Ike nodded his agreement, whatever was going on was quite obviously anything but normal. He, too, had talked to Soren earlier and had not noticed anything going on with him, and he couldn’t help but wonder if he had just been unable to detect anything strange he should have seen. If there had been anything, he  _ should _ have noticed it, he knew Soren too well not to, maybe even better than himself.

And yet, the mage was reduced to a shivering, moaning heap that almost seemed unable to communicate like a regular person. The air around him felt charged with residue magic that was on the verge of creating another burst of the winds Soren usually commanded so precisely.   
Ike knew this feeling, it was just like in the middle of a battlefield.  
But normally, Soren wasn’t part of this, was way too versed in his magic abilities to lose control. He knew better than this.

Something was very, very wrong.

More people gathered. Tibarn and Reyson stuck their heads together, whispering among one another with a mixture of nervous and dismissive glances over to the mage. Micaiah approached the scene, shook her head in disbelief as Sothe grabbed a knife of his, anticipating another outburst.  
This was bad. They had all come together before climbing the Tower of Guidance to face Ashera and bring back those turned to stone, many of the people in this huge army didn’t know Soren, had no idea this wasn’t normal. For those who already had no relation to him, it would be easy to attack in retaliation and turn the camp into chaos. 

Quickly, Ike pushed through the whispering and shuffling masses, he had to speak to Soren before things got any worse. He could hear what the people around him talked about, caught their insults and assumptions. Crazy, beast, monster  – those were all terms that flew around the air directed towards the mage.  
Ike was almost disappointed to witness the soldiers under his command usher such verbal abuse, thought that at this point, where Beorc and Laguz were fighting together under a common banner for a common goal, such terms would have started to disappear from his soldiers’ vocabulary. It was frustrating to see how wrong he had been.

Finally reaching Soren, he immediately noticed the shivers, the heavy breathing, but it seemed like the mage hadn’t realized yet that Ike was here. As he touched him lightly, some sort of electric current ran through Ike’s hand, almost as if he had been hit with extremely weak thunder magic, but also kind of different. But he was sure it had to do with magic, Ike had no other explanation. He could feel the residue magic penetrating the air around Soren, just like on a battlefield full of mages. Their attacks and even their dead bodies often would leave behind clouds of the magic they had used, which didn’t do anything, but were  – as far as Ike was concerned  – responsible for this specific feeling of war that hung over every battlefield he had stepped onto.

“Soren, it’s me! What’s wrong?!”

The mage’s breath rattled, he almost seemed to be hyperventilating. Face twisted in pain, the pupils of his eyes so small they were almost invisible, he finally responded, if just a little. His answer, however, only came in small outputs between moans of agony and torment. Whatever was going on, Soren tried his best to fight it.

“I...ke… 

I-it’s all so… hot… 

My head… I… ca – AAAH”

Soren’s body twitched and contorted and curled under another wave of whatever exactly was coming over him, Ike couldn’t exactly tell. But when he caught another glimpse of his friend’s eyes he thought the pupils he had earlier seen to have shrunken to the extreme now seemed more elongated, like dark slits in a glowing pool of red.

“RUN!!”

Ike had no time to react. Before he could even think of setting his legs into motion, a powerful blast hurled him through the air, slamming onto the ground afterwards. A flurry of shouts and screams swirled around him, filling the camp with more commotion.  
Mist yelled his name, but he had no idea where she was. The magic blast and flight through the air had left him without orientation for a moment. People all around him groaned in pain, struggled to get back to their feet, reached for their weapons. Others were alerted by the newest outburst, came to gather around the scene.  
Having been right next to Soren, Ike had been hit by the blast with full force, and he felt every single bit of it. Trying his best to get back to his feet as quickly as possible, he noticed the blood running along his arm, revealing a multitude of tiny cuts he knew had been inflicted by wind magic. Bombarding his foes with cutting gales was Soren’s specialty, after all, but the question was of course why this was even happening right now.  
Ike was in too much pain to make sense of it.

As the mercenary held his throbbing head for a moment, his eyes fell on a pair of feet that stopped before him, and looking up from his position crawling on the ground, he found Ena.  
The dragon laguz was unscathed, as she had just arrived on the scene, prince Kurthnaga right behind her. It seemed she did not even notice Ike who was quite literally right in front of her feet as she stared into the distance  – or rather, at the source of all this tumult. She was frozen in place, her face stony and there was just one word that came from her lips, so silently it was almost inaudible.

“Feral…”

“...what…?”

Kurthnaga helped Ike back to his feet, and both of them stared at the laguz girl in confusion. At least for a moment, as Ike had no time to wait for her to explain anything. He needed to know how the situation was right now.  
Turning, it was the first time that Ike noticed how far the magic blast had thrown him away from Soren  – so far away, in fact, that he couldn’t even see the mage among the crowd of soldiers that had closed in on him, weapons drawn. Once again a flurry of murmurs and shouts filled the air, insults were flung around. From somewhere, it seemed like Mist was trying her hardest to calm the situation, Rhys hurried to the scene staff in hand. On different sides, Titania and Micaiah tried to push themselves through the crowd to support Mist in her endeavors. 

Behind Ike, Kurthnaga and Ena were putting their heads together, whispered among one another.

“Are you really sure…? Maybe it’s a coincidence…”

“It’s just like back then… You haven’t seen him… He suffered so much…”

Not entirely sure what they were referencing, Ike decided it was finally time he did something about the chaos Soren’s weird condition had put the soldiers and the camp into. He was responsible for all of them in a way, after all.  
Luckily the pain was already subsiding a little, making it much easier to just push through the confused and angered soldiers once more until he had made it into the center of the crowd. There were a lot more onlookers right now, and Mist and Titania tried their best shouting over the masses how they’ll find out what happened, everything was okay now, everyone should leave Soren alone. Micaiah and Rhys were taking care of Soren, who seemed to have passed out after the last big blow of magic.  
He didn’t even quite know what to say other than the same things Mist and Titania were already repeating over and over again. Maybe it helped if these things came out of his mouth, though, and so he just reiterated his friends’ previous statements.  
To his surprise, it actually seemed to work and gradually, the mood within the crowd seemed to calm down a bit and while some of the soldiers protested, others dragged them away as Ike promised to clear the situation and to make sure it won’t happen again. They all had to work together now, there was no time for infighting within the army and he was sure there was something going on that had been out of Soren’s control.

When the crowd finally disbanded bit by bit and only few people, like Kurthnaga, Ena, Ranulf or Sothe, were left, Ike breathed a sigh of relief and was finally able to see how Soren was doing.  
The mage had not regained consciousness, Rhys, Micaiah and Mist kneeled around him bringing their healing expertise together to make sure he wasn’t injured himself, discussing what could have happened. When Ike joined them, he found his friend sprawled out on the grass, but looking like nothing had ever happened to him. In typical mage fashion it seemed as though his own magic had not hurt him despite the severity of the outbursts. But he knew Soren had been hurting while it happened, remembered the moans of pain and fear that had plagued him in between trying to warn Ike of the situation. He was sure Soren had been losing control of his own body in the process, and had been absolutely aware of it. He didn’t want to imagine how that must feel.

He exchanged glances with Rhys, who could only shrug upon the silent question of how Soren was doing.

“I think he’s okay now, but… who knows if it doesn’t come back when he works up… whatever it really was.”

Micaiah nodded her agreement with this statement.  
“Honestly, I can’t sense anything out of the ordinary now, but I think we should still take precautions in case it comes back.”

As some more of Ike’s friends joined the small group to see how Soren was doing, everyone quickly decided on a course of action. Ike brought the mage back to his tent, while Rhys would stand by in case his condition was changing, while the others combed the camp for something that might have caused this outburst, after Ike had made it known he was absolutely sure there had to be forces involved outside of Soren’s control.  
He hadn’t done this, something had  _ made _ him do it.  
He was absolutely sure of it. This just wasn’t Soren.

After having placed Soren on his cot as carefully as possible, Ike took a moment to look at him, saw how sweaty and dishevelled the mage appeared to be, almost not like himself at all.  
But he was sleeping now, did not seem to be in pain anymore.   
At this point, the commander could do nothing but hope that once he woke up, Soren would be back to his normal self, and that whatever had come over him had disappeared. No, he wasn’t just hoping for it, he was sure this was how it would go. It was Soren, after all, he wasn’t going to succumb to this.  
He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket, wiping some sweat off his friend’s forehead. Soren’s brow furrowed, seemed to react to Ike’s light touch, but in the end he continued to stay still and unconscious. Maybe it had just been a simple coincidence.

Before leaving again, Ike swept a bit of hair out of Soren’s face that stuck to his forehead due to the sweat, lightly brushing past the boy’s brand, remembering Ena’s reaction to the earlier situation.

_ Feral _ …

No, the similarities must have just been accidentally. Whatever had really been going on, Ike was determined to find the source, convinced it hadn’t been Soren himself.  
Whispering a promise he knew Soren couldn’t hear right now, Ike left him alone for the time being to join his friends on their quest of making sense of the accident step by step. 


	2. A Piece of Conviction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [Day 2: Fear]
> 
> After Soren's mysterious outburst it is not only the camp that's in shambles, but the mage's mind as well. After he has recovered at least physically, Ike tries his best to calm him and make sure Soren won't make a mistake they would surely both regret.

When entering Soren’s tent, Ike had already expected to see him in much less than high spirits, considering what had just happened hours ago. After the mage’s seemingly unexplained outbursts of magic and something that could only be described as primal instincts, his collapse and hours of unconsciousness had been almost as sudden. It had probably been a good thing, though, Ike believed, as it had solved the situation without anyone getting hurt any further than the few bruises and scratches the onlookers had received from Soren’s uncontrollable magic blasts.  
Now he was finally awake again, and whether or not Soren had already heard of what had happened, whether or not he remembered the whole incident, he wasn’t stupid. Certainly, he would know that something was off.  
And Ike had been right.

It had been quite a while that Ike had last seen his friend this devastated, sitting motionlessly on his bed, fingers gripping his own bicepses so hard the commander wondered if that didn’t hurt.  
Surely, he had noticed Ike entering, but Soren wouldn’t raise his head. Even as Ike sat down next to him, he didn’t look.  
They sat together like this in silence for a while, but maybe, Ike believed, it was his duty as Soren’s friend and commander to say at least  _ something _ . Even though he didn’t really know what.

“...how are you feeling? No pain or anything? Everything alright?”

Soren’s answer was hardly anything more than a whisper, but at least he replied. At least he acknowledged Ike was there.

“Nothing is alright.”

Unsure what to do, Ike shuffled a little closer to the mage until their shoulders lightly touched. He was almost about to put one arm around Soren, though second thoughts got the better of him. He seemed so tense right now, even more so than usual, and also kind of… frail.  
The last time he had seen Soren like this had been years ago, and he had hoped he’d never have to see him this way again. It just didn’t suit Soren, he didn’t deserve this.

“It’s not your fault.”

Soren flew around, face writhing in anger and pain at the same time. He glared at Ike for a moment, ruby eyes piercing into him, before he softened again after a long, silent moment that was probably not even as long as it felt to Ike.   
“Of course it’s my fault! I remember what happened! Not… all of it, but enough to know what I did, that the camp is in shambles, how I…”

The mage reached for Ike, peeling back one of the mercenary’s gloves to reveal the scarred leftover of a recent injury. It was so recent, in fact, the last bits of it that Rhys had left to heal on its own, citing how low they were on staves right now, were still bright red as though the blood had just been washed off. There were a few more of such injuries all across Ike’s body  – they were nothing to write home about, Ike had been through way worse and felt it just as little. Even the cuts and bruises he would sometimes end up with during training were worse.  
Soren kept staring at this fairly small and insignificant wound for an almost uncomfortable amount of time, until Ike was so close to begging him to say something, anything. When he finally did so, Soren’s words were even more of a whisper than before, became almost inaudible despite being so close to Ike.

“...how I… injured you…

“As I said”, Ike argued, “it’s not your fault. Don’t worry about it.”

“But I – ”

“ – didn’t do any of that on purpose, am I right? That’s not the kind of thing you’d do.”

Soren’s grip on Ike lessened as the mage’s shoulders sunk just like his head and his figure crumbled into a small heap, not unlike his trembling figure earlier when he had lost control and been fighting to regain command over his own body. Ike rearranged his glove and slowly, as gently as he could, put one hand on Soren’s head as his friend’s hands began tugging on his own clothes instead.

“I didn’t. But I also don’t know how it happened, I don’t remember. I can’t remember everything, just the headache and the heat and the screams and… and…”

Ike sighed. What could he say or do to stop Soren from despairing over this so much? It wasn’t like him, and it wasn’t what they needed right now. They were so close to the Tower of Guidance, they needed all the help and power they could get, and he knew Soren was aware of this. Surely, he hadn’t wanted any of what had happened, and he didn’t want any of what was happening right now.

But there was something else. 

After the final outburst of magic, Soren had collapsed on the spot, and during the following hours of his unconsciousness, Ike, Micaiah and their friends had frantically searched the camp in hope of finding and eliminating whatever had been responsible for this sudden outbreak. Finally, a flask had been discovered among Soren’s belongings that had smelled strangely. Knowing the only thing the mage usually drank was water, Ike quickly came to the conclusion that whatever this concoction had been, it might be the culprit.  
The question was why he had drunken something that had this obviously been tampered with, but that was only of secondary importance. What was much more important was another revelation the group had had about this strange liquid, something that Prince Pelleas pointed out to his puzzled company as slightly familiar to him. He had experienced this smell before, as if it had always hovered around his treacherous former advisor Izuka. And at this point, there was something everyone knew about the late scientist and it easily led to an assumption about the water.

When Soren had finally calmed down a little and regained his composition at least in parts, Ike found it to be an appropriate moment to tell him about it.

“It seems like your water was laced with the feral drug.”

“...what…?”

Soren stared at him in disbelief.  
“How… why did I not notice that…? I… I…”

His fingers curled into fists, nails digging into the skin of his palms so hard it first turned red, then slowly became more and more white. Red-eyed gaze shifted away from Ike once again.

“The water seemed fine, it – ”

“There’s a theory we’ve got”, Ike offered, “apparently this stuff is easily noticeable to Beorc, but Laguz can’t detect it at all. It’s probably been purposely made this way to drug them more easily and it might be possible that you… can’t smell or taste it that well either. In fact, we know that’s the case.”

When they had found the flask and Ike had pointed out the strong smell that had come from it, Ranulf had challenged this observation, claiming it didn’t smell of anything suspicious, even with his sharp Laguz senses. Tibarn, Reyson, Kurthnaga, nobody had been able to find anything wrong with the bottle and for them it had just been a regular old flask for carrying water. Like Ike, Sothe, Mist and Pelleas had talked about a strong, appalling smell coming from it even though the flask had been empty at that point, while Micaiah had told the group she only noticed that something was wrong with it after it had been pointed out to her and she paid close attention and had assumed it had been a similar case for Soren.  
Ike only had to put two and two together to find out how she was able to make such a guess about someone she hardly knew.  
And similarly, the few people that knew her well enough were able to draw conclusions about Soren’s nature from all of this.

Nobody of this small inner circle had said anything further about the topic, but they had all silently implied they were now aware of what Soren had spent years trying to hide.  
Ike wondered if he should tell the mage about that.  
Maybe it was better if he did it rather than anyone else.

“There’s something else that came from all of this”, he started, unsure how he should even go about it. Ike and Soren were both men of short but precise talks, knew they didn’t need to mince words around one another.  
And yet, there was something that held Ike back from just barking out what was on his mind. Maybe, he thought, it was because Soren would certainly not react the way he usually did to Ike’s, or even others’, words. The mage tended to not be all that concerned with criticism, dismissal or even insults. At first, many years back, Ike had thought Soren was simply caught too much in his own world to care, or that his confidence and ego were much higher than he would let on, but as time went on and he would learn more about his friend, he realized this was not necessarily the case. Soren had simply had no other choice but to learn how to cope with all of these things early on, growing up in environments that had made it crystal clear they had not wanted him around.   
With all of this in mind, Ike did not really want to be the one to put more of this onto his friend’s shoulders, but he also knew he had to. He didn’t want to imagine how Soren would feel if anyone else did it, maybe even maliciously so. 

But, rather unsurprisingly, the mage was already one step ahead of him.  
While the pressure he had put on his own palms had ceased a bit, Soren was still not comfortable looking Ike into the eye, stared at his own lap as his fingers moved in ways that seemed to suggest he was contemplating to let his nails dig into them again. Like before, his voice was barely audible.

“They know now.”

Silence fell between the two, dragging on for so long Ike had no overview of the time that passed. When it seemed to become so unbearable that the everyday noises from outside the tent appeared deafening, Soren rose from his place, reached for his bag and his humble belongings without once turning to look at Ike or even talk to him.  
Silently, the mage began throwing things into his travelling bag  – a book here, a handful of clothes there.

“Wait”, Ike interneved when he realized what was going on, “why are you… what are you trying to do?”

Soren stopped in his tracks, seemed frozen in his movement for a second until his shoulders sunk and he slowly turned to look back at the blue-haired.

“It’s over”, he replied drily, his face struggling to show as little emotion as possible, “I can’t stay here anymore. You know why. If this goes around the army it’s just going to cause unnecessary trouble for you, and that’s the least thing anyone needs right now. You need the support of all of these people now, Ike, you need them to save all the others. I don’t want to take all of that away from you. Therefore…”

“Wait, what?!”

This time it was Ike who froze in place, shocked to hear of the mage’s plans. This couldn’t be true, he simply couldn’t be disheartened from the whole event so much that he wanted to leave. Not now, not because of this.  
For the first time in a while, Soren looked at Ike in earnest, locked eyes with the commander only for a moment, his stony expression unchanging.

“I’ll leave, I have to. Don’t worry, I’ll go at night so this won’t get any attention. Just tell everyone that I died or ran away or something like that, it doesn’t matter. Actually no, better say you chased me off, I bet this will soothe whatever might be cooking up among the soldiers right now and they won’t lose faith in you. If you want, I can leave you the last few notes I took on how to progress to reach the tower, I’m sure Ranulf or even Micaiah can make use of them.”

No. There was no way Soren was this determined to get away.  
Finally awoken from his near-petrification, Ike jumped off the bed, reaching out for his friend. This couldn’t be happening, this whole situation was too bizarre to be true. Hadn’t Soren promised,  _ sworn _ to always stay by his side? 

“Nononono, wait. Soren, just… wait a minute here, this is all going way too fast. Why do you even think you have to leave? Just because some people know you have a brand? Who cares?! None of them would even be here if it wasn’t for you and your work.  _ That’s _ what you’re supposed to be measured on, not the thing on your forehead.”

Silence again. Soren’s gaze once more wandered away from Ike, fell on the floor in front of him. As Ike approached him, the mage’s shoulders trembled lightly and when there was only little space left between them, he turned towards him completely, fists and chest and his entire body shaking more.

“Soren, please”, Ike continued, trying to keep his voice as low and composed as possible. Talking softly didn’t come easy to him, he knew he just wasn’t the type for that and it usually didn’t matter, but in moments like these Ike was sure it was better to try and be a little more considerate.   
Once again, Soren seemed shockingly fragile, the mercenary was sure he could see something glistening in the corners of his friend’s eyes.  
Slowly, he put his hands on Soren’s shoulders, lightly, but firmly enough so that he would hopefully stop them from trembling so much. Then again, he should probably better make him calm down with words, but what could he really say anymore at this point?

“I need you.”

“...but…!”

The mage tried to get away from him, tried to back away only to almost tumble over his bag lying right behind him. Swiftly, Ike caught him by the shoulders before he could fall, locking the two of them in quite an awkward position for a moment, with Soren uncomfortably bent backwards, one leg kicked in the air for additional balance.  
Ike pulled him back into a steady position on both feet and after a few moments of staring at each other, both men couldn’t help but realize the ridiculousness of how they surely would have looked to anyone barging into the tent at the moment and burst into laughter. Well, Ike did, whereas Soren, at the very least, managed to bring himself to smile.   
This moment of lightheartedness seemed to have broken the ice of the situation, and yet Ike didn’t want to let go of his friend’s shoulders.

If he did, he might lose Soren for good.

“Look”, he tried again, “I know you’re afraid, and I don’t blame you. I’m sure anyone in your situation would. But I’m here for you, no matter what happens, no matter whether the entire world ends up against you, I’m here.   
Trust me.”

Once again, Soren did not reply immediately and kept staring at the two pairs of feet between him and Ike, but after a moment he shuffled just a little closer until his forehead could rest against Ike’s chest. He seemed more calm at first, but his entire body burst into regular small trembles only shortly after.

“But why would you risk… You have so many others… I’m not…”

Ike wasn’t entirely sure what his friend wanted to say, the mage’s speech slowly drowned in what he was sure were tears.   
But regardless of that, he knew exactly how he wanted to reply.

“Doesn’t matter. I mean, there are many people I care about, but there’s only one I really _need_ – and that’s you.”

Soren inhaled deeply, only to exhale all of that air in one long sigh. Another one followed shortly, as if he was trying to calm himself some more, shoulders rising and falling in regular intervals, but this time not in sobs.  
“You’re really stubborn…”, he whispered into Ike’s chest, “and maybe even stupid in a way. But I have… sworn to serve you… I want to serve you… I…”  
His arms slipped around Ike’s body, grabbing onto the back of the shirt as though clinging to dear life. The two of them stayed like that for a little bit, and Ike let his hands slide off the mage’s shoulders to mimic his motion and place them on Soren’s back. Moments like these made Ike realize how thin Soren really was, how strong he usually was despite that, and how little this situation fit him. And quite admittedly, he wanted to keep this little, strong mage by his side for as long as possible.  
Maybe even forever.

After they slipped away from one another again, Ike watched as Soren unpacked his bag once more, neatly folding the clothes he had earlier stuffed into it with reckless, panicked abandon.   
As it was getting late, the army commander decided to stay with him for the night, hoping to be able to combat the demons that might still wander around the mage’s head. It didn’t matter what they would end up doing or talking about, or just sitting back to back in silence like they had done so many times before. Anything, as long as Soren managed to relax and not change his mind again.   
When the camp was silent and the surroundings outside pitch-black, Ike once again promised his friend to do anything in his might to make sure nobody was going to get hurt anymore because of what had happened. Not Soren, not anyone else. The mage had answered with a weak, but confident smile that spoke more of his regained trust than any words ever could. 

At some point during that night Ike had fallen asleep despite his best efforts.  
Waking up on Soren’s bed the next morning, he jolted up aware of the possibility that the mage might have slipped out without him noticing, that he had lost him regardless.

“Good morning, Ike.”

A pair of ruby-red eyes greeted him when he looked around, accompanied by a tired, but genuine smile. The shadows below Soren’s eyes were deep, spoke of the many hours he had stayed without sleep as Ike had occupied the bed.  
The smaller man removed himself from Ike’s view to return to the table and stool he had created a work desk out of, sorted some papers before they would freely fly around the tent.  
Getting up, Ike yawned and joined Soren at the other end of the tent, saw the ink spots on the strategist’s fingers.

“Have you been working the whole night?”

The mage rubbed his eyes, trying his hardest to mask the fatigue that had come from working for all these hours right after having awoken from a drug-induced berserk episode and long unconsciousness. He needed to take care of himself better instead of pushing himself like that, Ike thought.

“Well, I suppose once the camp is cleaned up, we’re on the move again. All those people turned to stone can technically wait, they have all the time in the world, but I doubt Ashera will. We have to hurry, so I’m looking for a way to speed up our journeying process. We can’t afford anymore distractions now.”

Ike nodded in understanding, thanking him for his hard work. Like the night before, he put a hand on his friend’s shoulder, lightly massaging it in assurance of appreciation of his efforts.  
“I’m sure we can do this; whatever may come, we’ll get through this. Together.”

Soren looked up at him, nodded as well and crowned it with a soft smile.

“Yes. Together.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Just a little heads-up, while these first two chapters were part of the same narrative, the following chapters will be standalone, self-contained stories ^^' )


	3. A Piece of a Bond

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [Day 3: Animals]
> 
> A job is a job, Soren knows that very well and he has no plans on changing this stance at any point in time. However, that doesn't mean that it makes practising for said job any easier, especially when dealing with a curious creature and being watched by another.

There was something about this whole job that just didn’t sit well with Soren. The colorful, whimsical clothes he could tolerate for just a day  – they were apparently traditional garments worn in the region for festivities, and while Soren himself had no love for blindly sticking to centuries-old rituals, he also knew that challenging said traditions was fruitless. And apart from that, he was a mercenary and that meant whoever paid the group was calling the ropes.  
Unfortunately for him, however, this also meant that for some reason he could hardly fathom, he was supposed to perform with his magic during this festival for the entertainment of the villagers. And as if that wasn’t ridiculous and wasteful enough already, he was supposed to do all of this from the back of a horse.

The mage stared at the white mare in front of him that was supplied by the nearby village holding the festival so that he and his fellow mercenaries that had been requested to perform could become accustomed to the animals and their unique personalities and practice their roles.  
He sighed, deeply regretting having accepted to be part of this mission. Raising a hand towards the creature, he wasn’t even entirely sure how to approach it, was supposed to “build a bond with his steed” or something like that. It almost seemed like a waste of time for him, as he was only going to ride atop of this horse for one day before it went back to its actual owner. Said owner had planned to deck it out in all kinds of accessories that would, according to him, make the white animal look “more dashing” and appear as festive as its rider, who was supposed to wear special attire that Soren had already seen and instantly hated.  
Well, maybe “hate” was too krass of a word, but he surely wasn’t very happy about what he was supposed to wear either way, was much more comfortable with his own clothes.

When he was about to pet the horse’s face lightly, it blew hot air through its nostrils as it backed off a little, too shy to let itself be petted by Soren yet. As the mage held the reins at very short length, he was not only janked along with the horse’s movements, its hot breath blew right into his face.  
Since he didn’t let go of the reins and kept himself close to the horse, the animal appeared to grow even more uncomfortable, started shifting around and dragging Soren along with every movement it made. He lost his balance and fell, still holding onto the reins with one arm and almost submitted to his fate of being dragged through the proverbial and literal mud by a simple horse.

Before any of that could become a reality, however, Titania rushed to the scene, reaching for the bridle with steady hands and the expected professionalism of someone who earned their money on horseback. Within seconds, she had the creature tamed, finally giving Soren some room to breathe and free his hurting arm from the reins that had wrapped themselves around his wrist so tightly during the event that they had begun to dig into his skin.  
“You need to be more considerate”, she immediately lectured him, “horses are very sensitive beings. It got nervous around you because you were nervous to begin with, we need to work on that or else you won’t be able to ride it on the Day of Devotion.”

“I wasn’t – ”  
Soren sighed, it was futile to discuss this right now. Titania wasn’t wrong, it was part of the job for them to show up on horseback and entertain the festival-goers, and as much as Soren hated it because it made him feel like a circus performer, those were the conditions Commander Greil had agreed to and signed the contract for. Even Ike was part of it, so there was no way the mage could just weasel his way out of this.  
But maybe, he thought, he could find a way of giving himself a different, less humiliating role in the performance last minute…  
Anything would be fine as long as it didn’t have anything to do with horses, or any other animal, for that matter. Soren wasn’t incredibly keen on them, had never really cared for animals much, no matter the type. He failed to see what was cute about cats or dogs, couldn’t really bring himself to enjoy the songs of birds. He saw the value in horses and donkeys as carriers of wares and people, understood why guard dogs existed and farmers held shepherd dogs, had no problem consuming eggs, milk or meat, but that was all for him. While he understood why there was some sort of a bond necessary between an animal and its owner for the former to perform the way it was supposed to, Soren had always found it weird when people went as far as calling them their friends or even family. Those people gave animals rights similar to their own, but chose to ignore those beings that were much closer to them in terms of similarities… Soren had no patience for this kind of hypocrisy. 

“In any case”, Titania began again, bringing the mage back to reality, “I’ll give you a crash course in horseback riding. I don’t think anyone is expecting much from us in this regard, but you should at least be able to keep the girl over here at ease and not fall off the saddle.”

And so, she dragged Soren into her riding crash course for the next few days, trying her best to show him all the basics he would need to ensure a smooth performance at the festival.  
To Soren’s surprise, the first few days were preoccupied with her showing the mage how to gain his steed’s trust by walking it around, feeding it, gently caring for its mane and hooves.  
The people around them all found themselves quite surprised by the picture of Soren grooming a horse and their comments, no matter how much praise laid within them, were slowly becoming somewhat annoying. Even Ike chimed in and the mage had to try his best not telling him off like he had done with some of the others. This was all for the company, all just so he could fulfill his predetermined part of the contract.   
Luckily, Ike’s occasional presence made it a little more bearable, reminding him why he did all of this in the first place.

“You know”, Titania began during one of her lectures where he showed Soren how to brush his horse without hurting it, “I’m honestly amazed how well you’re doing. And I have to wonder…”  
She took a step back until she was right next to Soren, shot him a little, almost sheepish wink all of a sudden.  
“...does it have to do with your experience in taming another stubborn individual who didn’t quite want to approach you at first…”

Soren almost choked on his own saliva, couldn’t quite believe what he was hearing.  
“How dare you compare Ike to a horse!”  
The red-head smiled and began to giggle in reply.  
“I never said I’m referring to  _ Ike  _ now, did I…”

Great, just great.  
Why exactly was it necessary for Titania to humiliate him even more during all of this?  
As quickly as he could and without even bothering to give her any explanation, Soren left the training grounds, trying his hardest to avoid anyone’s gaze. Especially Ike’s.  
But at the same time, it wasn’t like he could just skip this riding practise from now on; he was part of the team, after all. No matter how stupid the task might seem, if he performed badly, it would reflect negatively on the company and while this wasn’t really much of Soren’s concern most of the time, it did also mean it was possible Ike could suffer from the company’s decline. He wasn’t going to ever let that happen, so the mage had no choice but to continue training.

But he was also not going to let Titania keep teasing him over practically nothing, and so Soren would go and seek out his steed while the knight, and preferably most others of the company, were away for another job, unable to witness his attempts at winning the white horse’s trust.  
The animal ate a carrot from his hand, they were finally making good progress.

“Here you are!”

The mage flew around to find Ike walking up to him, sporting a small wave as he approached. He leaned on the fence that marked the border of this small enclosure, corners of his mouth curling into a tiny amused smile.  
“I thought Titania would have to drag you here but looks like you actually like this horse, don’t you?”

Startled by the remark Soren found it hard to reply anything useful that would not reveal his true intentions. All he wanted was to do his job without public or even just inter-company embarrassment. Especially in front of Ike.  
But now he was here, watching him handle this stupid horse that he couldn’t forget Titania had likened to Ike himself. While he wouldn’t call himself angry about this anymore, he still found it had been absolutely uncalled for, even when it came to Titania and her friendly teasing of her “family”.    
Was this really what “family” did to one another? Looking at Greil and his two children, Soren never really got this impression.  
He cleared his throat, tried to shake off the uncertainties.

“Well, if riding a horse is part of this job, then I’ll ride a horse. That’s just how it is.”

Ike nodded his understanding and silently continued to watch Soren for a while, who tried his best mimicking the routine Titania had shown him in the days before, of how to feed and groom a horse so that it became more accustomed to its new rider and he earned the white-maned girl’s trust.  
Only if he was truly at ease, his steed could be similarly calm, Titania had said, the first lesson any knight learned about the secrets of a deep rider-animal bond. Just ask Oscar. Certainly, both of them seemed very much accepted by their steeds, but this was a very different thing, Soren found. They practically owned those horses, were expected to spend many years riding into battle with them, but this one here was going to go back to its actual owner one this job was over.  
Soren saw no real incentive for deepening a bond with a creature that he was soon going to part ways with anyway. 

And besides, it turned out he found it surprisingly hard to be at ease if Ike was watching his every step along the way with a deep interest he had not quite expected from the blue-haired. Usually Soren wasn’t afraid of showing him his skills, he was confident enough in his magic and tactical abilities.  
But this was different.  
This here had too many unknown variables.

Soren sighed. As much as he would like to call this off and devote himself to the things actually within his comfort zone, it helped nothing, he had to continue doing this if he didn’t want to make a fool of himself.  
It was time to get on this darned horse.

The problem with his plan was that said horse was currently not sporting a saddle and while it was surely possible for a skilled rider to disregard that, the lack of stirrups made it much harder for Soren to maneuver himself onto the animal’s back than he would like to admit. His usual garments of long, flowy robes certainly did not help.  
Naturally, his horse was not entirely on board with his attempts of climbing it and while it didn’t panic as it had done the first time Titania had encouraged him to try and actually ride it, the mare still moved around way more than Soren would have liked, making it incredibly hard to get himself onto its back and find an actual sitting position.  
As he struggled to keep his horse under control and his robes slid higher and higher to expose his legs, Ike kept on watching him for a moment, before he climbed over the small fence ready to help if needed. He didn’t quite approach, though, rather carefully watched as he tried to stay clear of the horse. Soren wasn’t surprised, Ike had no experience with horses either, after all.

When the white mare had finally calmed down, it gave Soren a moment to take a deep breath, grab the reins in earnest and to try his best and lead the horse around the enclosure. Luckily, he did not have to learn anything about keeping himself and his steed under control at high speeds and all he needed to be able to do was sit on it while the animal leisurely walked its way.  
When he had successfully led the horse here and there for a few minutes and came to a good stop close to Ike, his friend shot him a smile as he arrived.  
What in the world was so amusing about all of this? His blatant display of equestrian ineptitude?  
The mage straightened his back as much as he could in an attempt to keep at least some sort of dignity.

“Sorry”, he ushered, “this all is frankly not really my field of expertise… obviously. Only imagining we have to do all of this later in those weird clothes makes it just…”

“I know what you mean”, Ike nodded, “I mean, sure, it’s tradition and so on, but how are we even supposed to do this well if we’re completely uncomfortable? Have you seen the sword they’re giving me? It’s more of an iron flower bouquet than a blade!”  
Crossing his arms, Ike suddenly began scanning the display of Soren towering over him from atop a horse’s back from top to bottom. His smile brightened.  
“But you know, seeing you like this kind of has something… regal, in a way. You know what they say, right? A prince on a white steed.”

For a second, Soren’s entire body stiffened upon hearing this; how would anyone even get to the assumption he had something regal about him? And on top of that, Ike being the one to suggest this made it even more embarrassing and unexpected.   
Feeling his face heat up, Soren struggled to move away from Ike’s gaze, the size of the horse making it much harder than he wished it would be. This was the single stupidest thing he had ever heard from the blue-haired and he immediately wished his friend had never said it and saved him from this weird flurry of emotions. He shuffled around on the horse’s back, suddenly incredibly uncomfortable with where he was and how Ike stared at him.   
“I – I’m not a prince or anyth – ”

Before he could continue, the horse suddenly broke into a loud neigh, shaking itself so violently that Soren was almost thrown off. He clung to the reins in his hand, desperately trying to keep himself on its back as the animal appeared to have suddenly changed its mind about its rider and did everything in its might to remove him. When the reins were not enough anymore, the mage had no choice but to wrap his arms around the horse’s neck, remembering what sort of injuries Titania had mentioned a fall from atop a horse could cause.  
Ike rushed to the scene, at first wary of the danger of getting kicked by the animal’s strong legs, but went for the strike the moment he saw an opening. The mercenary reached for the dangling reins Soren had given up on, pulled on them in an attempt to at least prevent it from rearing up high again. For what seemed like endlessly long minutes they fought, while Soren could do nothing but helplessly cling to the mare’s back, hoping that all of this was over soon.  
Finally, the horse calmed down, resorted to swaying from one side to the other until stopped its formerly violent outbursts. Ike carefully directed it towards a water trough, where its attention diverted from its rider and gave Soren the opportunity to finally dismount.

He resorted to gracelessly sliding off the mare’s back, his whole body hurt and he felt sick on top of that as well. His head spun.  
Ike assisted him and caught him before his dizziness could make him fall, helping him to get away from the horse for a bit and rest against the wooden fence.

“I don’t even know what happened”, he breathed, unable to comprehend the situation that had led to all of this.  
“I’m sure you didn’t do it on purpose”, Ike mused, “but it did look like you kicked your horse or something like that…”

“Sorry for the inconvenience, Ike, I – ”  
The mercenary cut him off with a shake of his head.  
“I’m just glad you’re alright. And I guess if you want to apologize to anyone, it’s your horse, right? You didn’t kick me, after all.”

Soren raised an eyebrow. There was no use apologizing to an animal, he was sure it couldn’t understand him anyway, even if this was just about intention. But before the situation would get out of hand and found yet another way of embarrassing him, he carefully approached the drinking horse and gave it a little pat on the side, as gently as possible.  
The mare didn’t really pay any attention to him, and he had to admit he was rather glad about that for now.

He decided to let practise be for now, submitted to his fate that there probably wasn’t much experience to be gained without Titania’s professional guidance, as much as he wished for the opposite.   
Ike followed along, away from the enclosure and back to the mercenary company’s main headquarters, though a little hesitantly so. He looked back and forth between Soren and the white steed, which had finished drinking and was now occupying itself with, well, horse things, that was the only way Soren could describe it with his limited knowledge of the inner workings of an animal. But the mare did seem to meet his eyes for a brief moment, almost as though it was asking him if he was really leaving already. It didn’t look hostile or shy, just curious in a way. Could horses be as curious as cats and dogs were said to be? The mage frankly had no idea. 

“You sure you want to quit already?”, Ike began to muse, “the more you train the better you’ll be in the end and can do your part of the job as perfectly as possible. And…”  
He paused, rubbing the back of his head briefly.  
“I kind of want to see how you’ll do. I bet all those flowers and fancy clothes suit you a lot better than me, you’ll be even more… well… regal.”

Within an instant Soren could feel the heat in his face rising and knew it was on full display right now. Not good.  
He turned on his heels, tried to get away without letting Ike see more of his flushed cheeks.  
“A-anyway, I’ll leave now! I’ve got other things to do as well!”

Avoiding Ike for the rest of the day, Soren buried himself in work that hopefully had nothing to do with horses at all, though he knew he had no other choice but to go back to it sooner or later. No matter how he shuffled things around, it seemed impossible to avoid participating in this festival, as the contract specifically mentioned the use of magic, which  _ was _ his field of expertise no matter how anyone looked at it.  
And so he continued to train under Titania’s rule or sometimes alone for the next few days, making enough of a progress to be able to at least look decently competent at the whole horse riding thing. As long as his steed would do what he wanted it to while he concentrated on casting magic from an enchanted basket of flowers, it was all he needed.

When the Day of Devotion had arrived and the small group was on its way to the village festival, everyone, horses and humans alike, was decked out in colorful traditional garb that let them seem a lot more jolly than one would expect from a band of mercenaries. Mist loved her dress and while Greil appeared to have no opinion on his outfit, Ike kept fumbling with his own until he decided to just leave the overcoat be and threw it loosely over his shoulders.  
Soren, meanwhile, was of a similar opinion when it came to his own coat, though he found it would make sense to make at least a bit of an effort to wear it. After all, in contrast to Ike he didn’t have to perform great physical tasks in this event, would just be sitting on his horse and cast flowery magic. At the very least, the pants that were part of his outfit made it a lot easier to mount his horse and stay relatively comfortable in the saddle.

As he climbed his mare, much more gracefully now, Ike watched him in a fashion similarly curious and fascinated as he had a few days before. Reaching his end position, Soren straightened himself, looked at his friend, who stretched and pulled around on his shirt for a bit before flashing the mage a smile.  
“See, I knew it  – you do look fantastic like that. Like a true prince on a white steed!”

Forcing himself to keep his composure enough this time to not hurt the horse, Soren could hardly do anything about the flush in his face, the heat in his chest and resorted to clutching the reins and let his horse start walking with the argument that they had to catch up with the others.  
Ike shrugged and followed along and when Soren took a small peek a few moments later and as his eyes met with Ike’s, it was almost as if he could see a little bit of a blush on the blue-haired’s face as well.  
But no, that couldn’t be.  
Or could it?

But at the very least, he thought, it seemed that all that practise and humiliation had amounted to something after all.  
He gave his steed a small, gentle pat as they trotted towards the Day of Devotion together.


	4. A Piece of the World

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [Day 4: Prince AU]
> 
> After having gone aground at the Goldoan coast, the Greil Mercenaries find themselves in the unknown land of the dragon laguz. Luckily for Ike, they are greeted by the country's kind prince who is more than happy to help them. However, it is not Kurthnaga who exerts a strange fascination on Ike, but rather someone else the laguz had brought along for the trip.

The sun shone brightly from the clear skies, pairing itself rather well with the slightly salty breeze coming from the ocean to form a harmonic scene other people would probably die to get to see.  
Ike, however, was not here to enjoy the scenic view and comfortable weather. Not only had the ship he and his troops had boarded become aground, they had also been attacked by laguz pirates. Now that they had successfully managed to fend these birds of prey off, the ship had just made it to the shore and its passengers were able to examine the damage.  
But they were given no real time to rest, as it turned out the group of men that immediately came for them and accused them of trespassing were capable of changing into huge, ferocious dragons.  
For a moment, it seemed like they all had come out of the frying pan just to get right into the fire.  
Ike carefully reached for his sword. He had never fought a dragon before, hadn’t even known of their existence, and he frankly wasn’t even sure if he wanted to fight these scaly creatures, but if it came to it, well, he might have no choice.

Right before it seemed like the situation would escalate, however, a voice called back the border guards.  
Said voice sounded rather young and was attached to an equally young face that appeared behind the dragons, who turned back into their beorc-like forms immediately to stand guard as a green-haired boy walked up to Ike, followed by his own small entourage.   
Introducing himself as the Goldoan prince Kurthnaga, he carefully listened to Ike’s explanation of the situation he had found himself in and offered his help. He seemed so different from the other few dragons that had threatened Ike and his friends just minutes ago, much more gentle and almost frail in comparison.

As Ike conversed with the prince and the latter’s men got ready to move the ship out of its predicament, he noticed how they were being watched by another person from a bit of a distance. That person was kind of similar to the prince in appearance  – his clothes, hair color, eyes, all of it seemed almost identical to Kurthnaga. When that other boy realized he had been noticed, he tried to remove himself from the scene swiftly, but the prince had also caught wind of his presence and called him to his side.

“This is my nephew Soren”, he explained, “he’s a little… shy. But he’s a good child, I assure you.”

Kurthnaga’s nephew… Wouldn’t that mean he was also a prince? That could explain why they wore almost the exact same clothes, probably, but not really why they looked more like brothers than nephew and uncle, Ike thought.  
Prince Soren approached cautiously, nodded a greeting and smiled a little, but said no word. He really was shy, wasn’t he…  
For the rest of the conversation, the young prince stayed in the vicinity but never raised his voice as Ike and Kurthnaga discussed what kind of supplies could be offered in the name of Goldoa as an apology for the trouble the group had found themselves in. When they finally had settled on a list of things, Kurthnaga left to organize his part of the deal and only his younger nephew remained with Ike.

“...my apologies”, the prince started after a moment in which the two of them had silently stared at one another, “it’s just… how should I put it… I have never met a beorc before, you see...”

It seemed unusual for a moment, but on second thought Ike couldn’t really blame him. As a prince, he was probably kind of coddled and secluded to begin with, but he also couldn’t help but notice the difference between this child and his uncle when it came to talking to the mercenary.  
Despite his shyness, however, the young boy seemed to examine Ike from head to toe, stared at him with almost endless curiosity flickering in his deep red eyes. As Ike returned the gaze, he noticed the small details in which he, naturally, differed from his uncle; his hair was ever so slightly darker than the other prince’s deep green, while at the same time he looked paler than the (probably) older laguz. Even though his smile was just as soft, maybe even more gentle, there was also a certain air of reservedness around him that he just hadn’t been able to feel when it came to Kurthnaga. All in all, prince Soren almost seemed like he was hiding something, and for some reason this had a strange allure to Ike. He had never really found himself all that attracted by the secrets of other people, preferred it when they were upfront with him, but this boy was so different and yet it was almost as if he knew him.

He cleared his throat, hoping that his own staring at the prince had not been as obvious as it probably was. Prince Soren’s understated, short giggle told him he was wrong.  
“Well… I hope I didn’t make that horrible of a first impression…”

“Not at all”, the boy replied, his smile brightening just a little, “even though you’re kind of a little different from what I’ve read about beorc in my books. But to be honest, that only makes you all the more interesting.”  
He stopped suddenly, looking at Ike with a little blush before averting his eyes again.  
“Sorry, that was… maybe a bit too direct. I don’t get to talk to strangers all that often, not even my fellow Goldoans, so someone from outside is… very new to me. Please forgive me.”

Ike’s answer was a simple shrug as he waited for the boy to calm down again.  
“I like it when people are direct.”

“Oh.”  
The prince breathed a short sigh of relief, but didn’t follow it up with anything else. He did, however, approach Ike until they stood side by side, watching the Goldoans under Kurthnaga’s command transporting supplies of water and food onto the ship while Ike’s crew examined it once again for any potential damage. He should help with all of this, he thought, but something kept him here at the young prince’s side that he couldn’t quite explain. The boy seemed to have an almost familiar aura to him, as if Ike had met him before somewhere. He knew that could impossibly be the case, he had never seen a dragon laguz in his life before today and yet Ike began to feel as comfortable around him as he would around his own family or closest familiars.   
But what exactly made prince Soren so fascinating?

“I’m really glad I came here today”, the prince said after a while of silence. He turned to look at Ike again, shy blush now replaced with a much more confident smile.  
“It’s the first time I was allowed to leave the palace, you know, so that’s already great to begin with, but never would I have expected to meet a beorc here. I was ready to see the borders of my country, the wide ocean, but this is beyond my wildest dreams. I don’t even know how I can repay my uncle for having made all of this possible. He worked incredibly hard convincing my grandfather, the king, to let me come along with him.”

The prince blurted all of this out in just seconds, leaving Ike to wonder if it was even a good idea to tell all that to someone who was not only a complete stranger, but an outsider to a country that apparently wasn’t very keen on visitors to begin with. The mercenary couldn’t help but break into a bit of a smile himself.  
“...you’re really secluded, aren’t you?”

Prince Soren’s smile faded just a bit, curling into something more bittersweet.   
“Well, yes… As I said, I’ve never left our palace before in my life, and even within its walls my contacts are rather limited. Sometimes I feel like I’m talking to my books more than with other people.”

Ike raised an eyebrow.  
“Actually, do you really think it’s a good idea to tell me all of this?”

The prince let out another short, slightly embarrassed laugh and looked at the mercenary with such a soft face it almost made him look younger than he was supposed to be, whatever his age really was. Laguz lifespans were very different, Ike knew this, so he found it impossible to make a guess about how old the boy truly was. When Soren began to speak again, however, a shadow seemed to creep over his eyes as he avoided Ike’s gaze for a moment, before meeting his eyes again.  
“When you’re in a situation like me you will learn to quickly discern who is trustworthy and who isn’t. And I really do feel like you’re the kind of person I can trust, you’re not the kind of man who would just go and blurt out other people’s secrets.”

Impressed by the judgement skills of someone who by his own admission didn’t have a lot of experience with others, Ike could hardly do anything but scratch his head in wonder and watch the long shadows the two of them were casting on the grass in front of him. As before, something about this picture seemed almost more familiar than he was comfortable with; seeing his own figure next to the silhouette of a smaller, slimmer individual with flowing hair and cape was just so strangely calming.  
The prince, meanwhile, closely watched the preparations on the ship, the previous shadows over his face slowly disappearing, even though he wasn’t smiling quite as softly as earlier either.

“I’m almost jealous”, he whispered, “I would give so much to be on a ship instead of soon on my way back to the palace. The same old walls. The same people… staring at me all the time... You seem to have a very diverse crew, it must be nice to be among so many different people that you don’t stand out immediately.”  
Prince Soren’s brows furrowed as he drew his arms closer to himself, suddenly building up an invisible wall between himself and maybe not even just Ike, but the entire world around him. The mercenary wondered if he was beginning to regret having been so open with him in the first place, although he also had to admit he was a little disappointed by this turnaround. While he couldn’t really understand why the young prince was so overly trusting to begin with, it also felt rather nice in a way and just let this familiar feeling grow that he had had around him the entire time.  
“Isn’t it normal for a prince to stand out among the… non-royalty around?”, he argued.

“Certainly”, the laguz replied, “but that’s not the problem, you see. After all, it’s the same for my entire family, but even among them, I’m vastly different. Insufficient.”  
The ruby eyes of his began darting around, checking the environment closely to catch anyone who might be within earshot. Even when he found no one, the prince still drew a little closer to Ike so that he was able to hear him better as he lowered his voice so much he almost talked under his breath.  
“The truth is, I cannot shift. It’s some kind of birth defect, I’ve been told, and no matter what I do, I’m just unable to assume the same form as my uncles or my grandfather. Or any Goldoan, really.”

Ike shrugged.  
“...is that really that big of a deal? I’m sure you’ve got other things you’re good at instead.”

A small, bitter laugh came from the prince as his gaze flew inland and over the vast plains of Goldoa.  
“That truly does sound like something a beorc would say, but it’s sadly not that easy for us. The dragon clan is immensely proud of its strength, some even consider my grandfather to be the one strongest being in the entire world. For a member of the black dragon clan  – that is, the royal family  – to be unable to access that strength is absolutely unheard of and a stain on our history. We try to keep it secret from the general public and even the staff around us, but I always get the feeling that despite my family’s best efforts, some of them just…  _ know _ . As if they can tell by just looking at me, as if they don’t even see me as a fellow laguz. Even my grandfather tends to be like this at times.”

Ike had to admit that from this kind of perspective, the boy’s situation did seem like a predicament, but it wasn’t like he had any sort of wisdom he could offer prince Soren. For him, his earlier statement was still valid, he was sure the prince had other qualities to make up for it. Laguz were proud of their strength, Ike knew that very well, and he understood the sentiment, but surely they also knew that wasn’t all a person could offer. Not everyone had to be capable of fighting to accomplish something.

He was almost glad when Titania called upon him to inform him that preparations were complete and Nasir was absolutely pressuring everyone to get going. As much as he wished for prince Soren to feel better about his situation, there just wasn’t a lot he could say, or even knew how to put in words.  
When he met with the laguz group one last time to thank them for their help and prince Kurthnaga promised to bring the piracy issue up with his father, the latter’s nephew approached him once more, showing him a final, confident smile.

“I sincerely hope we’ll see each other again one day, Commander Ike.”

As the ship departed and Ike watched the laguz at the shore, the two princes even each giving a little goodbye-wave, he had to admit he doubted he’d see any of them again, if what he had heard from Titania about Goldoa’s strict self-isolation was true.  
It was kind of a shame, really, he just couldn’t forget this comfortable, familiar feeling prince Soren had given him, though at the same time it bothered him not knowing why he was even feeling that way to begin with. Something about this child was so fascinating, drawing him in so much that he almost regretted the fact that the prince had to return to his life of royal isolation, was probably never going to see the lands outside of the Goldoan border and even more that they would most certainly never meet again.  
It was truly a shame.

* * *

The months passed and despite everything that happened as the situation escalated into a full-blown war against Daein’s oppression, Ike just couldn’t forget about the Goldoan prince. Unsurprisingly, the dragon country did all in its might to not concern itself with the conflict brewing in and around Crimea, even when nearly every other nation on Tellius ended up having their hand in it in one way or the other.  
Such stubbornness was almost admirable.

A short while after the fall of Mad King Ashnard, however, a familiar face suddenly appeared before the mercenary. He had no idea how he had even found Ike and the rest of his group, as they had deliberately removed themselves from the public eye once all that praise and knighting and the promises of nobility had become way too much.  
But there he was, looking at Ike with those curious, deep red eyes he had been unable to forget all this time.  
To Ike’s surprise, the Goldoan prince didn’t want to recruit him for his own country or even just bring late praise for a successfully fought war.

He wanted to join the Greil Mercenaries.

At first, Ike had no idea what to even reply to his plea.  
“I don’t think it’s a good idea for a prince to be here, you know…”

“Don’t worry about that”, Soren answered with the kind of confident smile Ike remembered from their encounter, had almost missed.  
“Due to Goldoa’s isolation, hardly anyone even knows who I am, so it’s not like people will try holding me for ransom or anything. I might be unable to shift, but I can very well take care of myself regardless.”  
He demonstratively rose what appeared to be a magic tome and quickly let the winds fly around him in a dance that spoke of quite surprising levels of mastery. Ike had to admit, the company was rather short on experts in magic…

“How can you…”

The prince’s smile never faded.  
“I’ve spent a lot of time at home reading books, anything I could. I don’t know why they were there exactly, but at some point I stumbled upon magic tomes in our library, tried the spells and as it turned out, I can use them rather well. I also studied history and war strategies quite a bit, in case Goldoa would ever see itself needing them. Sadly, though, my grandfather has never acknowledged anything of it…”  
Silence fell over the two for a moment and Ike remembered the boy’s struggles with his own “insufficient” nature in the face of his powerful dragon brethren. While he already wasn’t really planning on rejecting the prince if he was that confident in his abilities as a mage, there was something else Ike needed to know.

“Why are you even here? Outside of Goldoa, I mean.”

“I snuck out, pretty much”, prince Soren smiled, almost sheepishly so, “it was easier than I expected. I just… couldn’t forget the view of the ocean, how easily you as a beorc talked to me. I just had to see the outside world for myself, you know, and I thought a mercenary like you would probably travel around quite a bit. I also heard rumors that my mother once left Goldoa and resided in Daein, but to be fair, those are just rumors and nobody ever said anything whether they’re true or not. I suppose I just...want to find a place that doesn’t make me feel like I’m so very different…”  
His smile faded suddenly and with a little blush and lips curled into something more bitter, he apologized for talking so much.

“I’m pushing myself onto you, aren’t I…”

At first Ike was inclined to agree, as this entire situation was indeed rather sudden and unprecedented when it came to recruiting new members to the company. But at the same time, he really could need someone who knew magic, and if that mage was someone he had met before and seemed trustworthy, all the better.  
Once again, that familiar aura seemed to unfold from the young laguz and while Ike could still not explain why it even existed, it also made it easier for him to come to a decision. Maybe like this he could also learn more about the young man, find out why exactly he had always appeared so known to him even though they didn’t actually know each other, as if they had met in another life or something of the sort (not that Ike really believed in that kind of thing).

“You’re not pushing yourself onto me at all, Prince Soren.”

“Oh, just forget about the ‘Prince’ stuff”, the green-haired immediately said before Ike could even continue, “just call me by my name. I’m not here as Goldoan royalty, I’m here as an employee under you, by your side. That’s all I wish to be.”

Ike sighed, finally offered his hand.  
“Very well, Soren. Welcome to the Greil Mercenaries.”

A slender, soft hand took his to shake it, while another bright, yet comfortingly soft smile accompanied it.

“Thank you for giving me a place to belong.”

Obviously, Ike couldn’t tell what the future with this boy at his side would bring, but something told him that it could only be positive. As time went on and Tellius saw another war rising within itself, he was quite glad to have someone with him who managed to easily take over the tasks of a commander that Ike struggled with. The longer they spent time together, the more he was sure he had made the right decision.  
Maybe he would never find out why it always seemed to him like he knew Soren like a lifelong friend would, but maybe that also didn’t really matter.

What mattered was the future ahead, and they were going to step into it together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I suppose Daein prince AUs are more popular (hell, I wrote one myself... which I have to continue at some point...), but I wanted to do something else for a change, since I also love Goldoa haha. I know Soren might seem somewhat different in terms of characterisation, but I believe without the burden of his abusive past he'd develop a different kind of personality overall. I put a few things into the background in terms of inter-Goldoan conflicts, so who knows, maybe one day I'll pick this AU up again as well ^^;


	5. A Piece of You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [Day 5: Gifts]
> 
> During their travels through the lands of Tellius, Ike and Soren meet a very intrepid merchant, who is absolutely adamant on selling them her wares. While it seems at first that she stocks nothing of interest, there ends up being something after all that Soren can't help but be drawn in by.

Soren wasn’t entirely sure what to make of this situation. In front of him and Ike, a young merchant lady with strikingly red hair had spread out her wares, using her wooden, burly backpack as a makeshift table of sorts. That alone wasn’t all that weird in itself, many travelling merchants were quite creative in presenting their merchandise while on the road.  
Rather, it was the things she had to sell that intrigued Soren, though not necessarily in a good way. Sure, she had a few weapons to sell, but the stuff she advertised the most were small, stuffed dolls one would rather try to sell to children, or at least to parents.  
And it was quite obvious that Ike and Soren were part of neither of those target groups.

“I know, I know”, the girl chirped, never losing her beaming smile, “but if you take a closer look, you’ll see that all those dolls are styled after legendary heroes from all around the world! Well… not your world, but many worlds. In any case, these people have all saved their homelands, slayed dragons and fought for their friends. They’re famous! And now you can have those figures of legend for yourself! I’m the only one in all of Tellius selling these, you should consider yourself lucky!”

She winked and waggled a finger before it came to rest on her chin and she froze in this pose, waiting for a response from her potential customers.

“That’s… really nice”, Ike began, “I just don’t think I know any of these people and frankly… I don’t care. Can’t you show us some of the weapons you stock instead?”

The merchant let go of her pose, smile fading a little. Surely, Soren thought, she had expected to sell these dolls just on the promise of them being connected to some sort of legendary heroes. But Ike and he knew more about the history and legends of Tellius than they even wanted, and for sure there were none that had ever carried golden tiaras in their hair and had been dressing in pretty much all blue.  
Coming to think of it, with the exception of one red-haired and one white-haired figure, all of these people were very… blue. If Soren had to guess, he would assume that whoever created these stuffed dolls had had a lot of blue fabric at their disposal. 

“Fiiine”, the young woman sighed before she took the dolls off her makeshift table and drew out a few of the weapons all around her. She showed off a few swords and daggers and a lance with a rather unusual shape, which she claimed came from a faraway country that called them “naginatas”, lamenting the fact that she had no tomes with her right now.  
As she smiled apologetically at Soren, the mage wondered how she even knew he used them.

Ike quickly looked through the merchant’s wares, weighted the swords and daggers in his hand, but it didn’t seem like he was impressed with anything that was on offer. Soren, too, couldn’t really see anything that they might need. They were wanderers now, not mercenaries anymore, and as such their usage of weapons had reduced drastically.  
When he noticed Ike wasn’t interested in buying anything, Soren lightly tugged on his sleeve.

“Seems like this is a waste of time. Let’s go, Ike.”

The bigger man nodded and was ready to bid his farewell to the merchant girl, when she slammed her hands on her backpack-table, staring at the two men for a moment as if frozen in shock.  
After a rather awkward and confusing silent moment, she finally moved again.

“Wait, did you just say  _ Ike _ ? As in,  _ THE _ Ike?? The Radiant Hero himself?!”

The woman bent over her table so much she would have been entirely in Ike’s face if he wasn’t so much taller than her, but her huge eyes and sudden shine radiating from her face took the mercenary aback anyway. He took a short step backwards, scratching his head in mild confusion.  
“Well, yeah, my name’s Ike, but… I don’t know about the rest.”  
Of course the people of Tellius had started singing their songs about him almost immediately after everything had been said and done, surprising everyone involved how fast the masses were to spin tales and legends. Soren, meanwhile, had mainly been surprised how quickly people were able to get any sort of facts wrong or exaggerated them. Certainly, this “Radiant Hero” business was another one of those instances.

“Hm…”  
The young merchant suddenly switched to a more contemplating demeanor, eyeing Ike from head to toe in a way Soren found anything but appropriate. Who did she think she was, allowing herself to be so intrusive?  
“Stop that immediately”, he protested, but the woman wouldn’t listen.

“Yes, I see it now… Blue hair, headband, strong body… No Ragnell, but I guess that’s not the point. Anyway, let me show you something interesting!”

She quickly turned around to rummage through her wares again, pulling out another doll which she raised over her head like it was an extraordinarily rare kind of treasure.  
The doll had blue hair like so many of the others she presented, but unlike them, it sported quite some familiar features. Headband, cape, it was all there.

“Here we go, the rarest of them all: the one and only Radiant Hero, in plush form! It’s even more limited than the other dolls due to high demand, I only have this one. How about it?”

She sat the doll down together with the others, proudly smiling at her two potential customers as Ike and Soren in turn stared at the doll in disbelief.   
Looking at it, it was Ike alright, Soren was sure of it, but from the way the doll looked, it seemed to depict him younger than he was now. How in the world did anyone interested in capitalizing on Ike’s sudden fame know what he had looked like a few years ago? Or was the creator of this doll just merely good at guessing?  
In any case, something about it drew Soren in.

He picked the plush up, examining its qualities.   
The mage wasn’t surprised to find out that the materials the doll was made of were, while not necessarily dirt-cheap, certainly not of the highest possible calibre. The fabric seemed a little rough to the touch and the proportions and interpretations of details were kind of weird. Like all of the dolls, Ike’s sported a huge, round head with hair made of flat felt and almost gigantic, stitched-on eyes. The arms and legs dangled from where they were sewed to the body as Soren moved the doll around, while the hands tried to give the illusion of having fingers, but were rather mitten-like regardless. The feet were just two big balls filled with hay or wool or whatever they used.  
And yet, squishing the doll a little revealed its internal softness, which Soren had to admit was surprisingly nice. It also sported a friendly little smile that worked rather well with the big eyes.  
All in all, despite the weirdness of its existence, this doll was kind of…

...cute.

Soren didn’t really want to admit it, but…  
“How much is it?”

The merchant girl tapped her index finger on her chin again, rolled her eyes around thinking about the price. Soren feared for the worst, this kind of reaction would usually come from sellers who were looking for ways of conning more money out of their customers than necessary.  
He ended up being right in his analysis.

“Let me see, it’s the rarest of them all, as I said, but since I’m talking to the  _ actual _ Ike here, I think I can give you a bit of a discount. So, how does 1,500 gold sound?”

“WHAT?!”  
Ike was shocked by her price, to put it mildly, leaving Soren to wonder if he might secretly be interested in the doll as well.   
No, actually, that couldn’t be. Ike wasn’t someone who would buy an item just because it had his face on it. In fact, it probably must feel rather weird to see a doll that looked like oneself, just younger.  
“That’s about half of our whole travel budget right now! That’s insane, it’s just a doll, lady!”

The red-haired merchant sighed and immediately snatched the plush from Soren’s hands again, putting it back to the rest of her product line rather dramatically.

“Fine, if you don’t want it I can just sell it somewhere else, I bet it’ll fetch a great price in Ylisse. I would have really liked to give you the opportunity to own a doll of yourself, but it’s the lowest I can go.”  
She shrugged, waited a moment for Ike or Soren to respond, but when the two men did not give her the kind of answer she expected (which Soren assumed would be to buy it after all), she began packing her wares back together. Very slowly.

The two of them watched her for a moment, waiting for some kind of punchline, but she almost seemed to ignore them from now on. Another well-known merchant tactic, Soren was aware of that  – emotionally manipulating the not-customer into regretting not having bought anything so that they would buy something after all at the last second, no matter the price.  
This lady really knew all the tricks.  
But so did Soren, and he wouldn’t let himself or Ike be ensnared by her crafty schemes, no matter how cute and huggable the doll had seemed.

He had to stay strong.

“I’ll stay in the vicinity for a bit”, the girl finally said when she had finished backing up, right before the men were about to leave, “so should you change your mind, you can find me somewhere around here.”  
She topped this off with another wink, then turned on her heels and waved over her huge wooden backpack as she got moving. The two men watched her for another moment, confused and exhausted at the same time, until she had disappeared around the next corner of the small road.

“What a handful”, Ike sighed and signaled to his friend that they should be going too.

When they settled down for the rest of the day in a nearby roadside tavern, Soren still hadn’t quite forgotten the sensation of squishing that small Ike doll between his hands. Whatever material they had used to fill it, it had seemed of a much better quality than the outside. Then again, thinking back on it, maybe the fabrics and felt that had made for the body, clothes, hair and all its details hadn’t been that bad after all. And the stitchwork for the eyes had been rather supreme. Soren didn’t know anything about stitching but it had looked kind of perfect. Big and round and… cute.  
Absentmindedly, he kneaded his pillow between his hands, trying to find the same sensation as earlier, but the pillow was too cheap. She would stay around the area for a while, she had said, right...  
No, he had to resist. It was just a stupid doll, and a way too expensive one on top of that. He had the real Ike right here.

“Soren?”  
The mage looked up to find Ike staring at him, had probably been doing so for some time as he had been foolishly playing around with the pillow. He avoided Ike’s gaze in embarrassment, he wasn’t supposed to see him like that.   
“You okay?”

“S-sure… I’m just… I think I’m a little tired.”

“That’s fine”, Ike replied as he moved over to give Soren a little affirmative pat on the back, “just take a nap or something. I’ll be going out for a little bit, though, I want to check something out. I’m back soon.”

Soren nodded, rearranged his pillow and watched as Ike threw his cape around himself and left. Alone, he stared at the pillow in front of him once more, still embarrassed about his reaction. Maybe a nap was actually a good idea right now.  
Hopefully, it would make him forget that stupid doll.

He didn’t know for how long he had actually been asleep, but when the mage woke up again, he was greeted by a familiar face.  
However, it was not quite the face he had expected. Instead, it was small, round and very big-eyed.

He jumped up, thinking this to be the lingering remnants of some weird dream, but when he blinked and opened his eyes again, the face was still there. Naturally, it was attached to the rest of the doll.  
Looking around, Soren found Ike on the other bed, looking at him with an obvious deep interest in his friend’s reaction. His eyes darted between Ike and his plushy representation, searching for an answer as to what was going on.

Ike smiled.  
“You liked it, right?”

Soren had no idea what to reply.

“Don’t worry about the money”, Ike continued quickly, “I was able to haggle the price down a little more. I’ll cover the rest myself.”

Almost automatically, Soren’s hands slowly moved towards the doll, unable to resist the urge to squeeze it and feel its softness again. When he had grabbed it, the mage knew it was too late, he couldn’t return this and get their money back now. Besides, Ike had been running after this merchant girl just to get this plush… even though he absolutely could not understand why the blue-haired had been doing this.  
He looked at Ike while a flurry of emotions made it hard to discern whether he should be confused, happy or something else or even all of it together.

Ike’s smile brightened.   
“You do so many things for me every day, so I just wanted to do something for you. Not sure if that’s really the best form of repayment, but… you really do like it, huh.”

When he laughed, Soren knew it was no use hiding anymore.   
He looked at the doll again, delighting in the handiwork that had been put into it. Sure, the fabric still didn’t feel all that amazing, but the softness of its filling definitely made up for it and the more he looked, the more details he found, coming to believe that whoever had made this plush, they must have been quite talented to be able to include all these small things.  
A little blush crept on his face.  
Of course the real Ike was irreplaceable, but this tiny one here also had its charms and could keep him company in those lonely moments he hoped would not be many during their journeys.  
Maybe it could even stay with him when time would dictate for them to say goodbye.

“Just think of it as a small replacement for all the birthday gifts I never got you”, Ike continued with another small laugh.

Soren nodded, returning the smile as he brought the doll closer to himself.

“It’s a wonderful gift. Thank you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah, let's not beat around the bush here, Anna is selling the actual FE plushes that do exist in reality xD After I had already finished writing the manuscript for this, I actually got one of those myself (Marth) and they feel surprisingly more soft than I had expected. However, I also feel like if put into the world of FE itself there wouldn't necessarily be the materials and manufacturing processes available with which our irl plushies are made, so I imagine they'd be different to the touch after all. Just in case you're wondering why they're being described somewhat differently to how the real life FE plushes are ^^;


	6. A Piece of Serenity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [Day 6: Travel]
> 
> Sometimes it's the small moments that are the most precious ones -- when the world is not quite awake yet, when time seems to stand still but also flies by too fast for the eye to see. Spending moments like these with Soren by his side were quickly becoming Ike's most treasured memories.

Watching the sunrise was not something Ike would count among his pastime hobbies, but it was nice every once in a while. After a night of staying awake and watching the campfire slowly die down over time, making sure no robbers or wild animals would find him and Soren defenseless, it seemed like a reminder that even the darkest times found an end eventually. His appreciation for this small piece of romanticism had only come after the end of this gruelling war that had culminated in battling a goddess and while he was aware of how useless to the actual reality it really was, it did feel nice to slow down every once in a while and just let the scenery before his eyes unfold.  
It was just that  – nice.  
Ever since he had started to travel the lands with Soren by his side, Ike had seen so many different landscapes, even in places he had visited before and just not paid enough attention to his surroundings. The world really appeared to look different when seeing them through the eyes of a traveller, not a mercenary, a fighter.  
They were allowed to slow down from time to time.

Ike rearranged his cape a little.  
The night had been cold and the early morning was just as chilly, and while he didn’t mind it that much, there was no need to freeze at this point. He looked at Soren, who slept nestled against the blue-haired’s chest, and wrapped the thick cape closer around both of them. Spending the night like this made sure they had at least some warmth to speak of once the fire had died down, and besides that he also had to admit he liked the feeling of the smaller mage resting against him.  
Soren shifted for a brief moment, rearranged his position in Ike’s arms. He did not seem to wake up yet, though, only yawned shortly before returning to his relatively motionless slumber. The mage was a rather light, but still sleeper, Ike knew as much and had spent most of the night moving as little as possible in hope to not wake him up. He knew his travel partner was capable of spending several days and nights with little to no sleep if needed, as he had often refused to take a rest when there had been work to be completed, battle plans to be strategized, but there was no need for that anymore.  
They were free of the chains of war, they could go wherever they wanted, sleep whenever they wanted.  
And he made sure Soren got all the rest he needed.

As the sun crept through the valleys between the mountains looming on the horizon, peeking just barely in with its red rays, the ex-mercenary freed one of his arms from underneath his cape to rub his eyes. He felt the length of the night after all.  
Doing so seemed to have stirred up Soren for a bit, despite Ike trying his best to not wake him. It hadn’t worked, though, as a moment later the mage, too, rubbed his eyes, opening them just a little.   
He blinked, looking up to meet Ike’s gaze. A smile followed.

“Good morning Soren.”

The smaller man groaned lightly, pushed himself up, mind slowly waking.  
“Good morning.”  
He turned his head, eyes following the rays of light that, little by little, made their way over the lands as the morning progressed. Together the two of them witnessed the sun rising higher into the sky with every moment from their cozy, yet cold place in the shadows of a tree on a small hill that oversaw the grassy surroundings until they trailed off in the distance, giving way to the mountains they were trekking towards. This spot had seemed untouched by beorc or even laguz hands at all, like a quiet, secret haven to hide from the rest of the world.  
They tended to find places like this one from time to time, saw things Ike would have never dreamed of discovering about the world around him. Sometimes they would decide to stop and set up camp much earlier in the day that they had planned, simply because the surroundings were so intriguing. Soren had seemingly developed a bit of an interest in nature, examined the plants and surroundings carefully every time they made a stop somewhere. As much as he tried to hide it, Ike could see the sparks of curiosity in his partner’s red eyes, similar to how he usually only reacted when finding a new book about tactics or magic. He had not tossed those aside, of course, was often eager to pay a visit to whatever library in whatever city they came across at least briefly, but Ike would have never imagined the mage would add another hobby to his list of interests so early into their travels.  
Their journey was changing him, both of them.

“...we should get going soon”, the mage commented after a little while, audibly trying to suppress a yawn in the process.  
“It’s okay”, Ike replied, drawing him a little closer until Soren was once again pressed against him. He was sitting up more than before now, loose strands of hair tickling his nose as the blue-haired arranged them both into a position that seemed more comfortable for the two of them.   
There was no need to rush, Soren could keep sleeping for another while if he really wanted.

Pulling the mage closer, Ike noticed how cold his friend’s legs felt, probably in no small feat due to the hard, almost frozen ground he had been sleeping on while resting against Ike’s chest. The morning dew that had started to gather on the grass below them certainly didn’t help.  
“You’re freezing.”

“I’m fine”, Soren replied, still somewhat sleepy, and tried to ease Ike’s embrace just a little. The ex-mercenary wouldn’t have any of that, though, drew his legs in until he was able to sit against the tree they had rested under cross-legged, pulling Soren up a little more, until the mage could sit on the blue-haired’s legs.  
Soren didn’t protest, turned until he was able to lean back against Ike, gazing at the sunrise across the hills and fields. In the distance, the birds making their homes in the forest around them began to sing. Ike drew the cape up close to the both of them again until Soren was wrapped in it once more. 

“What about you, though?”, the mage asked, almost whispered, as he kept pressing himself against Ike’s torso.  
The blue-haired shrugged.  
“You know me, I don’t freeze that easily.”

Soren replied with a bit of a chuckle and an agreeing nod. For another while they watched the sunrise together as the morning proceeded, filling the air with the smell of flowers opening themselves to the nourishing touch of the daylight slowly embracing the world.  
Such details, the sounds and smells of nature as it awoke from a night’s slumber or came to rest close to the end of the day, were something else Ike had not really paid much attention to before, had never really felt he had the time for it.   
And experiencing all of this now, at his own leisure, with someone close to his heart by his side, made it even better.

He lowered his lips to the top of Soren’s head for a moment, enjoying the feeling of the mage’s dark, smooth hair against his face.  
“Aren’t you going to get back to sleep?”

Soren took one part of Ike’s cape, pulled his legs closer to himself until he was more easily wrapped in the red cloak and it could also warm its owner a little better at the same time.  
“No, it’s fine like this. The sunrise is very… nice.”

Ike nodded, and with his hands now free while Soren kept holding onto the cape, he wrapped his hands and arms tighter around Soren’s hip, enjoying the feeling of his friend’s small body’s warmth slowly returning.  
Time flew by as they sat together like this under this magnificent tree on the small hill overseeing the grasslands below, but that was fine. They had all the time in the world.

When noon came about, the two men finally got going, half-jokingly planning to return here one day just to watch the sunrise again.  
During the years of their travels, they saw many a place just as beautiful, maybe even more wondrous than this one, but for some reason, it kept sticking in Ike’s mind for a much longer time than he would have expected. He didn’t mind it, though, every memory of the quiet, cosy moments together with Soren was a memory he would keep close to his heart for as long as possible.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And this was the last of my IkeSoren Week fics! Thank you so much for reading!! In case you're wondering whether I think weeks only have six days, I have some art that I'm going to put up for Day 7, so if you're curious about that, you can check out my Twitter (@lorbeerart), where I'll upload it tomorrow ;D In any case, I hope you liked what I had to offer during the course of this week and, once again, thank you so much for reading my little drabbles ❤


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